The present invention relates to apparatus for removing backing strips and exposed films from containers, especially from containers of the type known as drop-in cassettes which are used in many still cameras and wherein a hollow intermediate section of the casing of the container is provided with a front opening or window which registers with the foremost unexposed film frame when the container is properly located in a still camera, and with a rear opening or window to permit observation of numerals on the backing strip. Such numerals indicate the number of exposed or unexposed film frames in the container. The rear opening is smaller than and registers with the front opening.
It is already known to expel the leader of the backing strip from the container for exposed film by resorting to a device which is caused to pass through the rear opening so as to expel the leader of the backing strip through the front opening of the intermediate section of the container. In accordance with the presently prevailing practice, the expulsion of backing strip from the container is performed by hand in a dark room. This is a tedious operation which consumes much time, especially since the workman cannot fully observe the removal of backing strip and/or exposed film.